Wide Open Spaces
by WingedPanther73
Summary: I had the idea of writing what it would be like to land on Earth, after living in a colony for your entire life. This is it.


Title: Wide Open Spaces

Author: WingedPanther73

Pairing(s)/Characters: 3

Rating: PG

Summary: I had the idea of writing what it would be like to land on Earth, after living in a colony for your entire life. This is it.

Warnings: None.

Disclaimer: Gundam Wing, its names and characters belong to Bandai/Sunrise.

Beta Reader: Sybil Rowan

Noname clocked in for his cover job promptly at 0700 hours. Working on Gundam Heavyarms was his passion, but it was considered important that all workers have a legitimate job to serve as cover. Having a family and working sixteen hours a day was almost impossible, but Noname didn't have that problem.

He suited up in efficient silence, checking each seal twice before moving on to the next. The inch-thick spacesuit would be his only protection for the next eight hours. He stepped into the airlock with the other welders and held his breath as the cycle started. He both listened and monitored the readouts for any possible leak in his suit. Freezing in vacuum as his blood boiled was not how he intended to die.

Two-by-two, they left the airlock and began the day's repairs to the colony's exterior. They were paired for safety, in case a suit's control jets or radio failed. Safety in space was a priority. If you didn't respect it, you died.

There had been several minor meteorite strikes over the past twenty four hours, and every strike had to be inspected and repaired, as needed. While the colony would maneuver to avoid major objects, and destroy significant threats, the small objects frequently couldn't be detected until they had struck. Accumulated damage would lead to a breach, and the colony would die, if not repaired on a daily basis.

Noname appreciated the importance of the work he did, as well as the chance to observe the stars while he snacked on nutrient paste. There was something about being outside of the colony, watching the stars through his visor, that was... nice. It was man that had brought mercenaries and strife to space. The stars were peaceful.

Back in the airlock, he heard the familiar hiss of air returning, and the slight change in his suit's tension as the pressure balanced itself. Unlike the others, he waited until he was out of the airlock before removing his helmet to smell the sterilized air of the station. He carefully unsealed his suit, making certain he didn't cause damage in his rush to be free of its weight.

He wouldn't have much time to be free of a suit, today. The comforting presence of the colony would be behind him soon. At 1700 hours, Operation Meteor would start. He would leave behind the comfort of the station and set foot on Earth. He wouldn't be able to gaze up at the colony core while standing outside his apartment. There would be no more chances to stand on the meters-thick "windows" and stare down at the stars. He would soon be on the weird, upside-down surface of Earth.

* * *

Noname watched the telemetry readings as the tiny capsule sped towards the surface below. The weather was not cooperating. He would be landing during a "thunderstorm", and there was simply nothing to be done about it. Doctor S had assured him this wouldn't be an issue.

The roiling cloud-cover below was disconcerting. It was a solid-seeming surface that moved, humped, and shifted. His experience told him he was about to crash onto a surface that couldn't be dealt with. His brain told him he would fall through it harmlessly. The flashes of light that ripped through it were not comforting.

As he entered the mass, his screens accumulated droplets of water that distorted the images on his monitors. The flashes of light revealed a violent energy he hadn't seen on the colony. It was like the arc of his welding torch, stretched for incredible distances. That such raw energy should exist was awe-inspiring. That he should be falling through it placed a knot in his stomach.

Soon, his radar indicated the surface was at the right distance, and he deployed his parachute. Landing roughly, he sat in the cockpit of Heavyarms and waited for motion to cease, then abandoned the pod and moved to the arranged cover. Once in the building, he collapsed onto the small bed.

The flashes of light and terrible booms kept him awake, staring out the window at the clouds above him. Everything in him screamed that the colony was being battered by a meteor shower. This was the time to suit up, not sleep. It was the noise of extreme peril for a colony, not a noise to sleep by. Exhaustion eventually dragged him to sleep. He'd been awake for over twenty three hours.

* * *

Noname dreamed of the colony. He had enjoyed strolling through the countryside on his days off. There was a comfort in looking across fields, up the curve of the colony to the next city. From time to time, he would hike up the hills into the woods, enjoying the scent of pine in his nose, and birdsong in his ears. Always, above, the colony core held stability for him. Life was good.

The dream of birdsong slowly faded as his mind struggled to consciousness. The smell of pine remained in his nostrils, however. He stretched and opened his eyes to darkness. There was a hint of light coming through the window, something he wasn't used to. A colony's lighting system would dim light, but never this low. He stepped outside, and choked.

Stars. He didn't have his suit on. There was no glass. There was no core. The ground wasn't curving up, but down. He was outside, vulnerable. No suit.

His diaphragm hadn't moved. His chest hadn't moved. His eyes bulged as adrenaline dumped into his bloodstream. His heart doubled in speed, pounding so hard that he could feel his pulse in his neck, his wrists, his eyes. His chest hurt, and still the air didn't burst from his lungs.

All he knew was that he should be dying right now. He was on the surface of the colony, outside his suit, yet he wasn't breathing. Suddenly, his tortured lungs grabbed a breath. There was air. No suit, but air. Cruel stars mocked him from above as he gulped another breath. Everything was upside down.

He was on a mountain, bigger than the entire colony! He could see the curve of the earth from here, curving down, not up. He collapsed back inside and slammed the door, gasping for air as he sought the comfort of a building, walls.

Doctor S hadn't warned him about this! He would have to work hard if he wanted to adjust to an upside down world that he had trained to view as instant death. He would have to master this terror.


End file.
